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20140629

Between Mankind and Cetaceans | #1

A title that stands out against other posts on software, programming and design. What is going on and what is it about ? Before answering that, here is a little background information. Since I moved to a plant based diet, I feel much happier that my daily survival does not directly rely on animal suffering and abuse, naturally I am against animal exploatation, any form of animal abuse and environment destruction. I could discuss at great length here the why and how, but maybe some other time. For the time being, my beliefs led me to the Faroe Islands, a beautiful place in the North Atlantic, because there is something rotten here, just like in most places in this world. I am protesting here, along with other groups of dedicated individuals, against the famous Faroese Grindadrap, a cruel traditional event that I would like to stop. I will not bother to explain here what the Grindadrap is, as there is enough information on it on the web, so please read about it. In a short sentence, the Grindadrap is the act of torturing and killing massive pods of Cetaceans on the Faroese beaches. Many people, including Faroese are against it, and I believe this is a historical confrontation, leading to good and bad consequences for all parties involved. I am convinced though, that this 'event' along with other cruel practices against animals on the entire globe, will surely stop, if there are enough people taking a stand against and making their voices heard. Being here against the Grind feels like going against an entire nation, with all the attached consequences. This is because the Grind is a traditional event deeply rooted in their culture and way of living, where almost all inhabitants participate in and rejoice. However, many people, including Faroese, believe that this is something belonging to the past, and that the cruel slaughtering of the Cetaceans should stop. We are here to initiate a dialogue, bring awareness and take firm on site action in order to have the event stopped. Obviously, we are greeted with aggression by the Grind supporters and they are doing the best they can to prevent us taking any action, including going above their legal system, which is quite interesting. I have never been at war, but this is as close as I ever got to such a radical clash between two armed forces. It feels strange being in a place where most don't want you and would be ready to harm you in order to get their way. However, I must emphasize two important things. One is that not all Faroese are against our protest, furthermore we have received local help from many citizens and many people have been friendly and support our cause. Secondly, and probably most important, what the Faroese are doing, on a conceptual level, is not much different than what many other nations are doing on this planet, whether it is abuse in a circus, zoo, slaughterhouse, puppy mill or whatever, this confrontation is not against the Faroese, instead it is a protest against unnecessary cruelty and killing of marine wildlife. In the following posts I will try to find answers for my own questions and possibly explain my position a bit.